Let’s face it: this day is long overdue. The Apex 21′ was launched and hit the market like WILDFIRE, almost instantly becoming the #1 player distance iron. The iron was so good that, in my opinion, it entered the conversation about the best Callaway Iron ever, at least in a broad sense. It was forged (feel), had face-cup technology (ball speed, launch, forgiveness), and a two-piece construction that gave players of all skill sets (even me) the ability to hit quality golf shots all over the face.
Don’t believe me? Read this story…
Now, we arrive in 2024…
I have been waiting to share this with you all for a long time. But it begs the question, what can you do to an iron that offers everything? Well…the main thing is to make it feel even better and incorporate AI technology to nail down spin robustness, eliminating any chance of a hot or spinny area anywhere on the face.
Let’s start with the Ai200.
This is what Callaway marketing has to say…
Premium Look and Feel
A forged hollow body and a forged 455 face create a Tour-level sound and feel. This advanced forged construction is coupled with a stunning, premium design that captivates you more than ever.
Our Most Complete Player’s Distance Iron
In addition to the enhanced feel, the Forged 455 Face Cup delivers outstanding power across the face. This unique combination of power and feel separates the Apex Ai200 from the rest.
Incredibly Consistent Ball Speed, Spin, and Dispersion
The Apex Ai200 achieves incredible consistency through the Ai Smart Face. The Ai Smart Face generates outstanding speed and spin consistency with tight dispersion into greens using real golfer swing data combined with artificial intelligence.
Optimized Flight and Forgiveness
Strategically positioned MIM weighting ensures the optimal CG for your best launch windows. The Dynamic Sole Design enhances turf interaction to provide more forgiveness through the turf.
In my words…
It actually boils down to a few things for me. The Ai200 offers almost any player with a 0-15 handicap an iron that feels like a blade in a very hot and forgiving package. The one-piece fully forged body gives you that softness better players want, and the sound is insane.
Here’s the kicker: they spin and don’t have those HOT SPOTS that Apex 21′ had in some cases. For example, out of the fairway, I had ZERO issues with flyers, but sometimes, out of the rough, if I caught a few grooves up the face, I could hit some nukes with Ai200, which is not a thing. That is where Ai-smartface comes into play. Remember that term spin robustness that started with Apex UW? Same thing here. There are no spinny up-shooters out of the bottom and no knuckle balls out of the top. Center punch flys just like my TCBs (but 8MPH faster)
Simple.
Ai300
Think game improvement in an elegant SOFT package.
What Callaway marketing has to say…
Premium Look and Feel
A forged cavity-back design and a forged 455 face create a Tour-level sound and feel. This advanced forged construction is coupled with a stunning, premium design that captivates you more than ever.
Our Most Complete Game-Improvement Iron
In addition to the enhanced feel, the Forged 455 Face Cup delivers outstanding power across the face. This unique combination of power and feel separates the Apex Ai300 from the rest.
Incredibly Consistent Ball Speed, Spin, and Dispersion
The Apex Ai300 achieves incredible consistency through the Ai Smart Face. The Ai Smart Face generates outstanding speed and spin consistency with tight dispersion into greens using real golfer swing data combined with artificial intelligence.
Optimized Flight and Forgiveness
Strategically positioned MIM weighting ensures the optimal CG for your best launch windows. The Dynamic Sole Design enhances turf interaction to provide more forgiveness through the turf.
What I think…
Remember the all-powerful DCB? Well, take that iron, turn down the volatility (they were hammers), and add a soft feel, sophistication, and a look that I haven’t seen in an iron that packs this much punch.
Who are they for?
Avid golfers that need help BUT want that player feel. These ARE rockets, 2MPH faster for me than DCB, and oddly enough (for me) launched a hair lower with a touch more spin up and down the face. Irons like this can be tennis rackets…and that’s good, but Ai300 gives you racket performance in a no-nonsense, tight package.
These things and their performance for this golfer demographic are undeniable.
This is where things get fun…and REALLY interesting.
I’d like to introduce you to an iron that I think is a LEGITIMATE breakthrough in iron technology.
Apex Ti-Fusion
THESE ARE SICK!!!!!!
My first reaction after setting them down was…
What the hell is this?!
A multi-piece titanium face iron in a LEGIT players package. That was just at first glance, and then I hit them…
HOLY S$$T!!!
I’ll finish that part in a second; here is what the mother ship has to say…
Superior Materials, Unmatched Performance
Titanium is an advanced material that provides unmatched iron performance. Our industry-leading brazed titanium construction capitalizes on the power of a titanium face combined with the exceptional forged feel of steel. No other iron combines these performance materials into one iron like we have in Apex Ti Fusion.
Revolutionary Speed
Leveraging the superiority of titanium, we’ve provided a face with unbelievable ball speed characteristics. Titanium, the same material used in driver faces, is incredibly efficient and produces a larger sweet spot in an iron than steel.
Unimaginable Feel
Apex Ti Fusion combines advanced materials to achieve an unimaginable feel. The titanium face allows more deflection and interaction with our patented urethane microspheres. This interaction and a forged steel body provide a unique feel typically only found in single-piece forged irons.
Incredibly Consistent Ball Speed, Spin, and Dispersion
The titanium Ai Smart Face yields incredibly consistent ball speed, spin, and dispersion. The result is the performance of a 2-piece iron with consistency like a muscle back.
Premium DLC Finish
Ti Fusion boasts a new, ultra-premium Diamond-Like Coating (DLC) finish. DLC is more durable than PVD and produces a unique and striking aesthetic.
What I think…I’M SPEECHLESS
Well, I’ll get grandiose and tell the truth simultaneously. I think these may be the most complete irons we have ever made. I was speechless when I saw them, speechless the first time I put them in the bag and speechless today.
I have never hit an iron that looked like this and do what these do. Titanium face? Every time I used to hear that, my instant reaction was, “Well, that’s gonna suck.”
The technology and cleverness of R&D could never make it work. They were always bulky, hot, felt hollow, and by no measure related to an iron, so even a TOUR player would go, “I could play these.”
Well, here we are; I have no clue how this is even possible, but it is.
In this launch, I made a conscious effort to avoid any insider R&D recon, interviews, or quotes because, as a golf equipment fan, I wanted the focus to be solely on the user experience (for all the new Apex irons).
So…
I narrowed it down to three main things:
- SOUND: It’s immaculate; the Ti face, coupled with urethan microspheres, delivers an acoustic only truly heard with TCB or Apex MB.
- FEEL: Soft yet POWERFUL; they aren’t the same size as TCB, but they sure get through the turf and feel like TCB. That’s always my concern with players’ performance irons; there’s always at least one or two trade-offs. If the forgiveness and speed are there, they don’t spin and are bulky into the ground. And if they do the above properly, the extra horsepower (I need) is missing.
- PERFORMANCE: Feel and look like a TCB+ with Apex Ai200 performance.
I honestly believe this is the future of iron design. I have hit some shots with Ti Fusion that I didn’t think I had anymore. Overall, my iron play has been rough in the last 2 1/2 years. The last time I really controlled my ball across the set was Apex 21′, and that experiment got killed when I put them down for whatever reason (I’m a gear junky) and a short stint with Rogue ST Pro.
YES, the lofts are a bit strong. I bent mine a degree back (4-7) and two back (8-P), which are MINT.
Ti Fusion asks me personally to make ZERO concessions. ZERO. I’m almost a club longer than my previous gamers. I have zero fear of flyers; the ball is spinning across the face, and they get through the turf perfectly. And the look is STUNNING.
This will be article number one of what I imagine will be a few on this iron.
We won big on this whole line. Personally, I believe Callaway R&D designed the perfect Wunder iron. I literally want nothing more.
How did we do?
The new Apex Performance series is a 10 out of 10 smash hit across the board. If you think I exaggerate, wait until these hit the fitting bays. The iron market is stout with every OEM, but NOBODY is touching us starting today. There is too much horsepower flying around Callaway HQ.
